GREEN BAY For all the X-and-O self-scouting Mike McCarthy got out of the bye week whether certain tendencies emerged from his use of formations and personnel groupings on offense and defense, plus patterns in his own play-calling perhaps the most valuable realization came when the Green Bay Packers coach took a long look at the medical department.[img_r]http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/38/384604.jpg[/img_r]
As vital as the week off was for getting a number of players healthy, McCarthy also felt the need to use the time to examine any possible causes for the multiple injuries that contributed to the team's 4-3 start and try to find ways to decrease the likelihood of more during the rest of the regular season.
His findings?
"There's so many different things that factored into that, it was not just one thing we could say, 'Hey, we need to fix that,'" McCarthy said before Monday's back-to-basics in-pads practice, which focused on fundamentals. He spent 15 minutes of his pre-practice team meeting discussing health issues with his players as well.
But while McCarthy didn't invent a new way to prevent injuries, he and the medical staff are targeting one muscle in particular: The hamstring.
"We've had a lot this year, and it seems like even around the league, a lot of guys are going down with hamstrings," safety Atari Bigby said. "It must be something in the water."
With 10 players having been sidelined by hamstrings this season (running backs Ryan Grant and Kregg Lumpkin, safeties Charlie Peprah, Aaron Rouse and Bigby, defensive linemen Ryan Pickett and Jason Hunter, left tackle Chad Clifton, linebacker Danny Lansanah and Tory Humphrey), McCarthy isn't taking the injury lying down.
Not only is he increasing pre-practice and pre-game stretching periods from 6 minutes to 10, he's also having the training and strength/conditioning staffs look for ways to keep players' muscles warmer during their in-and-out action during games, since most of the muscle strains have happened on game-days.
"I took a good 15 minutes, went through the whole medical history of where we've been in the past, where we are today," said McCarthy, whose team plays at Tennessee on Sunday. "We looked at all (injuries), (but) any time you have a statistic that stands out like that (hamstring) one does," it has to be addressed.
As for pre-existing injuries, McCarthy received mostly encouraging news from team doctor Pat McKenzie. Only four players Hunter (hamstring), Lansanah (hamstring), Charles Woodson (toe) and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (throwing shoulder) were held out of practice, and Rodgers was able to do some light throwing during the jog-through period. No one else was held out of practice for medical reasons.
"I definitely feel better," said Rodgers, who dislocated his right shoulder at Tampa Bay Sept. 28 and focused solely on treatment rather than rehabilitation exercises during the bye week. "I took pretty much the whole week off from strenuous stuff on my shoulder. It feels better, definitely, just lobbing throws today it felt better than it has. I'm not quite headed down the homestretch yet. But it's close."
McCarthy said he'd like Rodgers to throw during two of the week's remaining three practices, but he's "going to let Dr. McKenzie drive that car."
Bigby (hamstring), wide receiver James Jones (knee), Pickett (knee, triceps) and cornerback Al Harris (spleen) all practiced Monday, and all four classified the time off as beneficial. Jones, who's been in and out of action since injuring his knee Aug. 22, was the only one of the four who stayed in town for treatment.
"I didn't need to go home that bad. I'm more focused on getting healthy and helping this team and do what I can to help this team win," Jones said. "I just wanted to get my knee stronger (during the bye) so when I do fall on it, hopefully it's strong enough to take that impact."
Pickett said he felt "the best I've felt this season," while Bigby, out since Sept. 14, said he hoped to regain his starting job from Rouse after missing the past five games.
"When they call my name, I go in there," Bigby said. "Whether they're going to make me the starter or the backup or whatever, that's out of my hands."
The return of Harris, initially thought to be lost for the season when he lacerated his spleen Sept. 21 against Dallas, would provide a big lift to an improving defense coming off its most impressive performance of the season Oct. 19 against Indianapolis.
Harris, who after missing the first four games of his NFL career said he is "just counting my blessings," didn't know what his role would be against the Titans because "I've never really been in this situation before, so I don't know how it goes." McCarthy suggested Harris could initially return in a backup capacity, or could start.
"The week's work will answer that question," McCarthy said. "It would be great to have Al out there starting, but I'm only going to put him out there when he's ready.
"I said last week standing here, I thought this was a very good time for a bye week for us. We needed to get healthy, and it looks like we've achieved that on most fronts."